Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I was not expecting much from the Government today, but it actually managed to sink beneath my already low expectations. I am shocked it decided to amend our motion in this way. Not only did it amend the motion, it rewrote it in its entirety. I would encourage people to read our motion. It contained a series of indisputable and horrifying statistics about the depths of the slaughter and depravity being inflicted on the Palestinian people. It noted some facts about the Genocide Convention and the International Court of Justice. It made a simple call – to support South Africa in its efforts to hold Israel accountable for its massacre as a matter of urgency.

There were other elements in our motion that the Government preferred the Dáil not recognise. We noted the disturbing genocidal statements that have been made by senior Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister, the President and the Minister of Defense. The Irish Government’s amendment erases this reference from the record. Why does the Government not want to acknowledge those statements? Does it not concern the Government to hear Israeli officials openly cheering the devastation in Gaza while referring to Palestinians as human animals?

Our motion also made specific reference to the 2,000 lb bombs that Israel is dropping on densely populated areas in Gaza.

There is no reference to the bombs in the Government's amendment, so let me tell this House a bit about them. They have a lethal fragmentation radius of up to 365 m, which is equivalent in size to 58 soccer fields. Shrapnel from those bombs can kill men, women and children who are standing nowhere near the impact site. They leave craters in the ground that are more than 40 ft wide. These bombs are not being used sparingly. A New York Timesinvestigation found they had been used on hundreds of occasions on an area half the size of County Louth. How can any country claim it does not have genocidal intent when it is dropping bombs of that enormous size and lethality in densely populated areas, where 50% of the population are children? Why does this Government not want to refer to them in this motion?

The Tánaiste was not here to listen to our motion today. He sent the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, in his place, who read his script and then left. This is the level of respect the Government has for this debate. I listened carefully to the Minister before he legged it. He spoke about how the Government was hoping there would be moves at EU level to impose sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank. When the Tánaiste talks about holding Israel to account, is this actually what he means? Prolonged efforts to try to impose a travel ban on violent settlers have failed to be agreed so far. To give some idea and context concerning how pathetic this is, I would just like to put on the record that the US, Israel's greatest ally, has already imposed those travel bans. Biden did it weeks ago. In case the Government did not know this, the entire Israeli Government is full of violent settlers. The country's Minister of National Security handed out automatic rifles to them at the very start of this conflict.

Spare us, then, the attempt to disguise this lack of action. The Government talks about holding the Israeli Government to account but it has failed at every single opportunity to do so. It will not support South Africa at the International Court of Justice. It will not lobby for economic sanctions at an EU level. It will not refer a case to the International Criminal Court. It will not withdraw the diplomatic status of the ambassador and it will not pass the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 or the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023. Words are not enough. The Government not only should act; it has a legal obligation to act under the Genocide Convention. It is refusing to do so. Instead, it is erasing our motion with its proposed amendment. I have to say the Government should at least have had the courage of its convictions and just voted against our motion.

It is a disgrace we are sitting on the fence, watching this happen and not taking action. The people out there who want action from the Government on this issue can see straight through its efforts to avoid taking action. What was the intent behind the rushed, last-minute, after 10 o'clock at night announcement that the Government was ripping up the Dáil schedule for the week to bring in its own motion on Gaza in advance of the Social Democrats motion today? It is saying the same thing as it has been saying for ages, namely, calling for a ceasefire and things like that but taking no steps to prevent what is happening with an action, and simply saying today and yesterday that it cannot intervene at this early stage. The Government should read the language in our motion. Other countries have signalled their intention to intervene. You do not signal your intention to intervene and then walk into the International Court of Justice tomorrow. Preparatory work must take place in advance of doing that. We are calling on the Government to start that work now and to signal its intention to support South Africa like other countries have signalled their intention to support Israel.

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